Fifteen students to receive fall Phuture Phoenix scholarships

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will have 15 Phuture Phoenix scholars on campus this fall, more than doubling the number of scholarship holders in the second year of the scholarship program.

Award recipients will include six returning scholars and nine first-year students, Phuture Phoenix Director Kim Desotell announced during a special reception held May 19 for Phuture Phoenix supporters.

Phuture Phoenix, UW-Green Bay’s signature program that bolsters college aspirations for young people, began in 2003 as the result of an extended conversation between Cyndie Shepard — the wife of former chancellor Bruce Shepard — and University Trustee Ginny Riopelle. The pair discussed establishing a mentoring program that could boost postsecondary awareness for students in at-risk schools and help them establish a vision for attending college. Phuture Phoenix since has served more than 8,000 schoolchildren from elementary schools with significant low-income populations. The program has become a model, and is being replicated at UW-Eau Claire, Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., and Silver Lake College in Manitowoc.
The cornerstone Phuture Phoenix event is an autumn tour of the campus for approximately 1,400 fifth-graders from at-risk schools in the greater Green Bay area. UW-Green Bay student volunteers, many of whom are first-generation college students, offer tours and a snapshot of campus life.

Through the years, the Phuture Phoenix program has grown well beyond a field trip. Each year, UW-Green Bay students visit middle and high schools to serve as positive role models and mentors for at-risk students. It is a connection that begins in fifth grade and extends to graduation.

Scholarships will be made available to qualified Phuture Phoenix students as the numbers grow. The scholarships are renewable each year a qualified student attends UW-Green Bay.